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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27682330">Graffiti Artist</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redfurt/pseuds/Redfurt'>Redfurt</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Veesjan/pseuds/Veesjan'>Veesjan</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Transformers Animated (2007)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 01:13:02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,497</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27682330</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redfurt/pseuds/Redfurt, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Veesjan/pseuds/Veesjan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A strange new bot is born from an Allspark fragment embedding itself in a modded-out DJ's motorcycle. A certain green bot takes a liking to her, but the other Autobots...not so much.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bulkhead (Transformers)/Original Female Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Close Encounters</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is just a silly little concept fic aimed to be in the style of an actual TFA episode. Thank you to Veesjan for helping me write this fic!!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was a late evening in Old Detroit. A local DJ had parked their trusty motorcycle right out front of the resident back-end club, knowing the strikingly black-on-bright-pink paint job and odd mods would be enough for her to be recognizable. People obviously wouldn’t steal her if they knew whose she was. </p>
<p>That is, unless she got up and moved on her own.</p>
<p>Which is exactly what happened.</p>
<p>The motorcycle made a strange mechanical whirr as it transformed into a humanoid robot. The robot stretched up to reach her full height, but smacked her helm on a light post as she did. Reeling back from the sudden ding to her head, she regained her composure.</p>
<p>“Oww…” she muttered, rubbing her optical ridge. Hitting yourself with a light post was not a good way to begin your existence.</p>
<p>Standing at about 14 feet tall, the robot should have felt out of place in her surroundings, but because she had nothing to compare them to, the thought did not cross her mind. Coming back to reality, the robot heard a giggle from a nearby alleyway. Curious, she unintentionally stomped her way over and peeked her head around the corner. A person was staring at her as if she was an alien (whatever that is). She saw them holding some sort of object, but couldn’t make out what it was before they dropped it and ran.</p>
<p>She walked further into the alleyway and picked up whatever it was the person had dropped. It was so small that she only had to use three digits to lift it. It rattled in her servo as she inspected it. “Spray...paint. I like it!” the robot gleefully chirped to herself. “Spraypaint. Spraypaint Spraypaint <em> Spraypaint </em> !” She was saying it over and over as if to memorize it. </p>
<p>“FREEZE!” someone yelled from the other side of the alley. Spraypaint looked down to see a woman dressed in blue pointing a flashlight at her at the end of the path. Spraypaint cocked her head a tinge before the woman began to approach her.</p>
<p>“Freeze tag? I love freeze tag!” Spraypaint said cheerfully. “But you gotta tag me first!” Transforming back into a motorcycle, she took off to the exit behind her.</p>
<p>“All units, we got a runner!” the woman shouted into her walkie-talkie while rushing to get into her car.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>---</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We got a bright-pink striped, uh… motorcycle...robot...thing on the run!” Bumblebee’s police radio chirped. “They’re heading down the freeway towards the main city, I’m gonna need some backup!”</p>
<p>The Autobots looked at Bumblebee as the message concluded. Everyone knew what the voice on the radio was talking about.</p>
<p>“Could it be another…?” Bumblebee began. </p>
<p>“Freeway towards the main city...” Prowl repeated from his post at the computer console near the back of the room. He typed in a few inputs, then paused as the screen changed to a tracking circle slowly moving through a map.</p>
<p>“Another Allspark fragment?” Sari asked, climbing onto the massive console. Prowl gave a nod.</p>
<p>“It’s a similar energy signature in the area the scanner described.”</p>
<p>“Well,” Optimus began, raising a clenched servo, “We’d better put a stop to them before they cause any trouble. Autobots, transform and roll out.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>---</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Spraypaint, meanwhile, was having the time of her life. Her laughter echoed over the revving of her engines and her pursuer’s sirens. She was having <em> so </em>much fun, in fact, that she failed to notice she was driving right off the edge of an incomplete overpass.</p>
<p>“Whuh-oh!” She cried as she suddenly found herself airborne. Thinking quickly, she transformed into robot mode, grabbing at one pylon to slow her fall. As soon as she was a safe distance from the ground, she shifted back to her motorcycle form and continued speeding down the road.</p>
<p>She was so caught up in her fun that she didn’t notice the large mass in front of her, and came to a crashing halt as whatever it was seemed to… <em> catch </em>her? She was being held between two massive objects, but the force applied to her frame was shockingly gentle.</p>
<p>“Hey, lemme go! I was having fun!” she protested, transforming back into robot mode to struggle. Now that her head was upright again, she whipped it back and forth, and eventually upward to meet the optics of… a sizable green fellow, it seemed. The sirens from before finally caught up with her, and the scene was suddenly bathed in light. Spraypaint did her best to squirm out of her captor’s grip, but could only manage to wriggle a little bit.</p>
<p>As the sirens began to register, she concluded that she was forfeit in her one-sided game of freeze tag. “Fine, fine, you win! I give up!” she confessed, once again wriggling against the green mass’s embrace. Even as she confessed her loss, the arms holding her did not falter. Looking up at her subduer, she registered his face. He had a protruding green jaw that slightly obscured her view of him, but ignoring that she realized he was...kind of cute, actually.</p>
<p>“We’ll take things from here,” a stern voice from behind her said. Spraypaint couldn’t really turn her head to see who was talking, so she unconsciously began to wriggle against the lad’s grip once more.</p>
<p>“Bulkhead, set her down,” the same voice said. For a moment, the grip did not waver, but then the name finally registered.</p>
<p>“Oh! R-right! Sorry,” the fellow stammered. The grip loosened as he set Spraypaint on the ground in front of him. As her skid-plate gently touched the ground, she looked up to get a full inspection of the strange bots who stopped her joyride.</p>
<p>There was a smaller, yellow bot with horns on his helm standing behind a taller, more sneaky looking bot with strange optics. Next to them was a grumpy-looking bot staring daggers at her with a sneer, while a more kind-faced red and blue one stood beside him. As she sat at her new vantage point, Spraypaint got a good look at the one she assumed was Bulkhead. He was much wider than the others, taking up the space of two bots just by himself. Now that she could see his face from a better view, she could conclude that yes, he was in fact cute. </p>
<p>The grumpy looking one grumbled and crossed his arms.</p>
<p>“These Allspark ‘bots really are their own league of glitch-heads,” he said, slowly shaking his head. The police vehicles had begun to disperse, but Spraypaint had a feeling things would only get worse if she tried to run again.</p>
<p>“So, uh… what do we do with it?” the small one asked. Spraypaint narrowed her eyes.</p>
<p>“I’m no ‘it’!” she protested, standing on her own two feet. From this vantage point she could clearly see that she was a little bit taller than that one, which gave her a small spark of pride in her chest.</p>
<p>“So, erm… who <em> are </em>you, then?” the red-and-blue one asked. Spraypaint liked him too, if only because his demeanor was the calmest out of all of them.</p>
<p>“My name’s Spraypaint! I was born ten minutes ago!”</p>
<p>“Well, Spraypaint, you were causing quite a scene back there,” he said, voice not exactly <em> upset </em> , but certainly with a lilt of <em> disappointment </em>. For some reason, Spraypaint felt bad.</p>
<p>“Sorry, I was just having fun…” she quietly admitted.</p>
<p>“So, let’s see…” the ambulance spoke up, seemingly ignoring her remorseful state, “so far, the Allspark-touched bots we’ve encountered have been several shades of insane- can we really trust this one to not cause trouble?”</p>
<p>“Awh, I don’t think she’s that bad,” Bulkhead said, gently patting her on the head with a large digit, “she was just going on a little joyride.”</p>
<p>“And what else are we gonna do with her, bossbot?” the yellow one perked up.</p>
<p>“We’ll take her to the tower tonight, then decide what to do with her tomorrow. We don’t know if she’s working with the Decepticons or not yet.”</p>
<p>“What’s a Decepticon?” Spraypaint spoke up. Red-and-Blue seemed to be taken mildly by surprise by that. </p>
<p>“... Bulkhead, keep an eye on her. See what she knows. We’ll be standing by if you need backup.”</p>
<p>“Roger that, Prime,” Bulkhead responded. He transformed into vehicle mode- a strong, study, broad machine that still seemed to tower over her, even at its reduced vertical height. Spraypaint did the same.</p>
<p>“C’mon, follow me,” he said, starting down one lane while the others all took an exit. Bulkhead conspicuously positioned himself in Spraypaint’s line of sight as the rest left- not that she minded too terribly much.</p>
<p>“Bossbot’s really not that bad, honestly. We’ve just been dealing with… a lotta weird stuff, y’know?”</p>
<p>She didn’t, but chose not to comment. Eventually, they found themselves at an open lot overlooking a large, oddly shaped tower. Bulkhead transformed back into robot mode, and sat down, causing the entire structure to shake. Spraypaint did the same and sat down across from him, crossing her legs and tucking her servos into her lap.</p>
<p>“So, how’d you come online?” Bulkhead asked, gesticulating with one of his massive servos.</p>
<p>“Wellllll… one moment, I just… stood up! Hit my head on something- that really smarted. Then I saw these little things- two legged, with some kind of shaggy covering- run away from me! They dropped something as they left, so I picked it up, and that’s where I got my name!”</p>
<p>“Huh, so you really did come online 10 minutes ago.”</p>
<p>“Yup, so, uh… Nice to meetcha, I guess?” Spraypaint smiled and extended her servo out from her lap.</p>
<p>“The feeling’s mutual, uh...bud.” Bulkhead also reached his servo out, but hesitated to take hers as he was afraid of crushing it. Spraypaint caught on and just grabbed one of his massive digits with hers.</p>
<p>After their formal introduction, Spraypaint sat back down. “So, who are these Deceptee-cawns you mentioned earlier? Are they fun? Do they play games? Ooh! If they do, can I meet ‘em??”</p>
<p>“Woah, woah, slow your circuits there, pal.” Bulkhead stopped her. “Decepticons <em> aren’t </em> our friends, and they aren’t yours either.”</p>
<p>Spraypaint perked her head up. “Oh, does that mean that red and white one from earlier isn’t one?”</p>
<p>“Who, Ratchet? Nah, he’s just wired that way. Don’t let him get to ya.”</p>
<p>Spraypaint sighed in relief, but was still a little annoyed that getting closer with Bulkhead meant his friends, specifically Ratchet, would be there too.</p>
<p>“Anyways, you see this?” Bulkhead motioned to the red logo on his chestplate. Spraypaint nodded. “This is the ‘Autobrand’. We wear it cuz we’re Autobots. Decepticons wear these kindsa things too, but they’re purple. If you see one, <em> don’t </em>interact with them. They only mean trouble.”</p>
<p>Spraypaint began to look at her own body, trying to find the brand on herself. <em> She </em> didn’t mean any trouble, so obviously she had to be an Autobot, right?</p>
<p>Seeing her disappointment, Bulkhead attempted to think of something comforting.</p>
<p>“Well, uh… It’s not somethin’ you’re <em> forged </em> with, really. It’s something you… ah… get! Like, something you earn!” he said.</p>
<p>“Hmmm…” Spraypaint mused, then looked down at her chest again, a look of concentration beginning in her eyes and then spreading across her face. As she did, a few sparks of blue darted across the surface before dissipating. Slowly, she managed to bring the digital blue specks into a line, which she eventually got to obey her whims. Then, flicking her eyes back up, she took in Bulkhead’s autobrand, memorizing every detail in an instant. When she looked back down, she wrangled the line into imitating its shape, outlined in neon blue. Once it matched the symbol perfectly, she stuck out her tongue as she concentrated on setting it.</p>
<p>“Whoa…” Bulkhead said in awe, “how’d you do that?”</p>
<p>Spraypaint looked up and beamed, standing.</p>
<p>“I’m a little fuzzy on it, but I <em> think </em>before I came alive, I belonged to a real cyber-techy guy! He must’a added an LED array to my front at some point!”</p>
<p>“That’s incredible!” Bulkhead said as the autobrand slowly faded back to black. At the compliment, Spraypaint beamed, a giddy feeling rising in her chest.</p>
<p>“So, I wanna ask you guys some questions now!” she chirped, “Like… if I’m like you, what’re you doing here? Are you like me?”</p>
<p>“We, uh, came here runnin’ from a group of Decepticons, actually. We had this thing called the ‘Allspark’, and--”</p>
<p>Bulkhead was cut off as Prime’s voice, tinny and muffled, came through his audial.</p>
<p>“Bulkhead, status report,” he said. </p>
<p>“We’re doin’ fine, no worries! It really does seem like she’s real new. I’ve been layin’ down the basics for her.”</p>
<p>“Alright, I’m still not a hundred percent certain…” he replied, tone incredulous.</p>
<p>Spraypaint balled her fists.</p>
<p>“I really do wanna help!”</p>
<p>“Plus, her energy signature only came online when we detected it- makes no sense she’d be workin’ for the Decepticons. I think we can trust her.”</p>
<p>For the next moment, Spraypaint didn’t think. Or, at least, that’s what she’d blame it on if she were ever asked later. At Bulkhead’s defense of her, she jumped up and gave his servo a hug.</p>
<p>“Alright. Come back to base when you’re done. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.”</p>
<p>“Be back soon, bossbot,” he said before looking down and acknowledging the diminutive robot beside him. Spraypaint quickly recovered herself and stepped away, mildly embarrassed. She looked up at Bulkhead and could’ve sworn she saw him blush in the pale moonlight, but shook it off.</p>
<p>“W-well, whaddya say we get back and introduce ya to the rest of the team?” Bulkhead suggested, rubbing his now let go servo with his other one.</p>
<p>“I thought I was ‘sposed to stay here tonight…” Spraypaint mulled, shyly rubbing the back of her helm. </p>
<p>Bulkhead’s expression softened at the remark. “I’d feel bad leavin’ ya here all by yourself. I’m sure Prime wouldn’t mind if I bent the rules for you.” He stood up with a grunt and extended his servo to her. “C'mon, I’ll show ya back.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Muscle Memory</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Bulkhead introduces his new friend Spraypaint to the world of art. Her methods of creating art, however, are not the most...legal, to say the least.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Considering we never really see Bulkhead's room in the show, I tried my best giving a description of what I think it looks like. Thank you to Veesjan for helping me out with this fic so far!!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“So, uh… whaddya think of the new bot?” Bumblebee asked as he and Prime walked into the warehouse.</p>
<p>“I’m… not sure, to be completely honest. She genuinely doesn’t seem to be a troublemaker, but the same could be said for all of the Allspark bots we’ve met.”</p>
<p>“Eh, Allspark or not, a lotta the bots we’ve met are strange. I mean, there’s <em> Blitzwing.” </em></p>
<p>“I… suppose I see what you mean.”</p>
<p>A gentle clunk from the outside of the base alerted the bots inside to two arrivals- though one was partly hidden behind the other.</p>
<p>“She hasn’t got anywhere else to go, so…” Bulkhead began to justify, but Optimus raised a servo to wave him off.</p>
<p>“I trust your judgement, Bulkhead. She can stay, at least until she finds somewhere to, uh… stay.”</p>
<p>Spraypaint couldn't help but shrink back a little as Optimus approached, but after seeing he wasn’t planning to dispense any fatherly disappointment in her, she quickly recovered. In fact, his demeanor this time seemed more… awkward and stilted. Even at her young age, Spraypaint got the impression he rarely met new bots.</p>
<p>“Hello, miss, er… Spraypaint. My name is Optimus Prime. You’ve met Bulkhead, these are Bumblebee, Prowl, and Ratchet,” he gestured to each of the robots in turn. Bumblebee gave a friendly wave, but neither Prowl nor Ratchet acknowledged her. </p>
<p>Bulkhead gave her a pat on the back, which wound up bumping her a bit further forward than he was probably intending to.</p>
<p>“Don’t worry about ‘em, they’ll warm up to ya. Here, I’ll show you around!”</p>
<p>Bulkhead patiently but enthusiastically showed her around. Prowl and Ratchet had already headed back to their rooms, as Spraypaint caught a glimpse of the gold-and-black autobot hanging from a low branch of a massive tree growing through a break in the wall, and the medic had made himself scarce.</p>
<p>Eventually they stopped at one of the largest rooms in the building. The walls were lined with massive boards, with splashes and streaks of bright color across each one. Spraypaint couldn’t help but gasp; she’d never seen such variety, and in such lovely compositions!</p>
<p>“Woah…” she awed, taking in her surroundings. “These are all so pretty!” </p>
<p>Spraypaint began walking further into the room as she admired the pieces lining the walls. The canvases were almost all as big, if not bigger, than her. Every one she passed was a new experience. Compared to the one she saw back in the alleyway, these were <em> breathtaking </em>!</p>
<p>“Do you like them?” Bulkhead finally spoke up, albeit softly. Spraypaint perked her head up and turned back to see him twiddling his digits shyly.</p>
<p>She flashed him a giddy but genuine smile. “They’re...wonderful! Are you kidding me? I <em> love </em> them!” Spraypaint practically sprinted back towards Bulkhead, jumping up and down. “I wanna try! Can you show me? Pleeeeeaase?” she pleaded.</p>
<p>“I dunno, it’s pretty late. Maybe we should wait til tomorrow.”</p>
<p>“Ohhh, but I’m not tired! Plus, you were the one who cut my fun short in the first place!” She puffed out her breastplate and poked a digit at his chassis. “You owe me.”</p>
<p>Bulkhead let out a sigh and raised his servos in defeat. “Fine, you win. But it’s only cuz you’re cut--I mean, cuz you said please.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>--</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Ugh! This isn’t working!” Spraypaint threw her brush down in defeat as she spoke. After over an hour of trying (and failing) to figure out a method she enjoyed, she became frustrated. “You make it look so easy…”</p>
<p>“H-hey, it’s okay! We just have to find a medium you like,” Bulkhead said, patting her gently. “Is there anything you can think of that you wanna try?”</p>
<p>Spraypaint looked up at him and thought for a moment. Sure, there wasn’t much she could go off of, but if she thought hard enough, maybe she could find <em> something </em>. As she sat there in thought, she began unconsciously tapping her leg to a slight beat. Wait. A beat? That seems familiar…</p>
<p>“That’s it!” Spraypaint exclaimed, jumping up from the ground. She looked back at Bulkhead, who was now also standing. “You got any cans of me lying around here?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>---</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Spraypaint dragged Bulkhead outside and had him lead her to a vacant wall. If he let her graffiti the walls of the warehouse itself, he knew the other ‘bots probably wouldn’t appreciate it as much as he did. Luckily, since the side entrance went mostly unused, he decided to lead her there. Still, he was hesitant, to say the least.</p>
<p>They had managed to scavenge some half-empty cans of spray paint from a construction site, with the internal promise of returning them later. It took a little bit for her to adjust to the small size of the can, but she soon managed to get a solid grip on it by pinching them between her thumb and middle finger, with her index ready to push down on the nozzle.</p>
<p>With a confident smile, she tested the can, trying to recall the motions executed by the people she’d seen.</p>
<p>She picked out a spot on the wall, narrowed her eyes, and then pressed down.</p>
<p>The paint promptly shot out sideways, catching her other arm. </p>
<p>“I think you need the little white dot to be facing the wall,” Bulkhead helpfully suggested. Spraypaint took a moment to examine the bright green splotch she now had on her arm before readjusting her grip on the can and trying again.</p>
<p>The first thing she drew was a wide arc, stretching in a half-moon shape over her head and arcing down to the right. She didn’t have any particular goal in mind, choosing instead to practice simple and smooth motions to get used to the medium. Unlike the paintbrush, with which she was supremely clumsy, this little can felt more like an extension of her arm than an artistic medium. As she backed up, the spread of the paint became thinner and fainter, and as she stepped closer, it became more solid and defined.</p>
<p>When she had sufficiently tested out the paint, she looked up at Bulkhead with a big smile.</p>
<p>“Think you’ve found the one?” Bulkhead asked excitedly.</p>
<p>Spraypaint nodded enthusiastically. “It’s… perfect!” she exclaimed, throwing her servos up dramatically. As she did, however, her grip on the nozzle tightened, and she accidentally sprayed Bulkhead’s chestplate with a matching streak of neon green akin to the one on her arm. They mirrored each other’s head motions, looking at the stain, and then at the other’s face.</p>
<p>Before Spraypaint could even begin to apologize, however, Bulkhead let out a genuine chuckle and pointed to her arm. “Heh, now we match!” he snorted, motioning back and forth between the out-of-place neon green on both of them. It wasn’t long until Spraypaint joined in with his laughter, giggling and pointing and the like. The laughter echoed throughout the cement walls surrounding them. Spraypaint was rolling on the ground, still pointing at the mark on his chest. She had never laughed harder at something since... well, she didn’t have any frame of reference to go off of anyways.</p>
<p>A light suddenly emerged from the entranceway behind them. “Would you two keep it down!? Some of us are trying to get a good stasis nap around here!” Ratchet shouted, pointing his headlights in their direction.</p>
<p>Still caught up in the lightheartedness of their giggle-fit, Bulkhead turned around and waved a servo dismissively at Ratchet. “Lighten up, Ratchet, we’re just havin’ some fun.”</p>
<p>“Need I remind you that little-miss-troublemaker’s definition of <em> fun </em> was an all-hands-on-deck police chase through half of Detroit!”</p>
<p>“Sounds like a funner night than anything I’ve heard you do in solar cycles.”</p>
<p>Spraypaint let out an “oop” and began giggling at Bulkhead’s comeback. Ratchet gave a grumble and backed up before Spraypaint could accidentally catch him with her spraycan next.</p>
<p>“Somehow, I thought Bumblebee was as <em> annoyin’ </em>as a bot could get!”</p>
<p>Something caught Ratchet’s attention and he turned. It was too dark for Spraypaint to make out, but she could hear some very small but gradually approaching footsteps.</p>
<p>“Aw great, now look what you’ve done! You woke ‘er up!” Ratchet grumbled and stooped. Spraypaint peered forward, then immediately recoiled behind Bulkhead as Ratchet stood again, revealing a tiny, tired organic carefully held in his servos. </p>
<p>“Oh, uh, sorry, Sari,” Bulkhead said guiltily, scratching the back of his head with one of his massive servos, “I guess it is getting pretty late. C’mon, Paint, you can stay in my room.”</p>
<p>“But…” Spraypaint said, looking at the can in her hand, “this is fun! I finally found something I’m good at, I wanna keep doing it!”</p>
<p>“You’ll have time for your ‘fun’ in the morning, kiddo,” Ratchet deadpanned with just the barest hint of snark. Sari had sat down in his hands, clearly about to fall back asleep, and evidently Ratchet didn’t want to keep her up.</p>
<p>Spraypaint finally ceded.</p>
<p>“Okay, okay… I’m sorry. I’ll try not to keep you up next time,” she said, giving a small nod. Ratchet didn’t appear <em> happy </em>, but he didn’t say anything against her either.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>---</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As Bulkhead made his way inside, Spraypaint followed meekly after, taking note of the silence that had fallen over the building. She tried not to let the guilt build up too much- surely, that Ratchet was just kind of grumpy, and he hadn’t really meant what he’d said about her being annoying…</p>
<p>She wasn’t sure how well she could convince herself of that, so for now she just pushed it to the back of her mind.</p>
<p>When they entered his room, Spraypaint wasn’t entirely sure where exactly was fit for sleeping. There were shelves and racks piled with art supplies up against nearly every part of the walls, an industrial spot light tucked away in the corner, and a pile of wooden pallets stacked up in the middle of the room covered by a blue tarp. The only vacant spot, from what she could conclude, was Bulkhead's sleeping area. She couldn't really call it a bed <em> per se </em>, mostly since there was no raised surface on which to sleep. Rather, it was just an open area that seemed to accommodate Bulkhead's rather large build.</p>
<p>While Spraypaint mulled over her thoughts, Bulkhead had taken this opportunity to fashion the pallets into a bed of sorts, draping the blue tarp over top of them as a blanket. Sure, he took stasis naps in his alt-mode, but he wanted to make sure that Spraypaint at least had some options to choose from. When he was satisfied with his build, he gave her a tap on the shoulder, bringing her out of her thoughts.</p>
<p>"Not too shabby, eh?" he remarked, motioning towards his DIY creation. </p>
<p>Without a word, Spraypaint walked over to inspect it. Sure, it wasn't the most ideal place to sleep, but Spraypaint was grateful for Bulkhead's hospitality nonetheless. She turned around and flashed him another smile. "I'd say so," she responded, stepping onto the boards and tucking herself in.</p>
<p>Bulkhead turned off the lights, but quickly realized that Spraypaint herself was a living nightlight. Her bright-pink stripes seemed to stand out against the darkness of the room, and there was even a faint glow from the Autobrand she donned herself with earlier that night. Luckily, the tarp managed to mostly dim her, but her head still seemed to illuminate the wall opposite her. At this, Bulkhead gave a slight chuckle before heading to his spot and transforming into his alt-mode.</p>
<p>"Night, Bub," she said, turning her head in his direction.</p>
<p>Bulkhead was glad he was in his alt-mode so she couldn't see him blushing at the nickname. "N-night, Paint.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>---</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> Shkt-tckt-tckt-tckt. </em>
</p>
<p>The noise wasn’t too loud, but it definitely brought Bulkhead out of his stasis nap. Before he fell asleep, he had heard Spraypaint tossing and turning a little, but he did recall that she eventually settled down. She had to still be asleep, right? He felt a presence at his side, albeit a much smaller one than he. Though, when it plopped against his door, he soon realized what, or rather who, it was.</p>
<p>It seemed Spraypaint hadn’t settled down as quickly as he had remembered. It came back to him that she was still tussling with her positioning even after he had drifted off. She must’ve not been comfortable sleeping in her robot mode because there was a bright pink glow coming from the motorcycle now leaned against his side door.</p>
<p>When the realization hit, Bulkhead would’ve froze if he wasn’t already unmoving. Though, in this moment, he wasn’t too terribly opposed to her if this is what helped her get to sleep. Well, it wouldn’t be the <em> only </em> reason, but he would pretend that it was if asked. Rather than think about how he would deal with this in the morning, he simply stayed awake as best he could to enjoy the moment, though he eventually did drift back to sleep.</p>
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